Following five months of offshore operation of its first device, DONG Energy has just placed an order for the latest version of FLiDAR’s floating lidar wind measurement equipment.
In recent weeks, the first FLiDAR device has measured wind speeds of over 25 m/s (10 minute average) for sustained periods and survived max. waves estimated at over 7m in height.
The second device, which incorporates numerous upgrades, will be delivered in early March 2014 for a one year measurement campaign in the Irish Sea. Floating lidar technology is proving itself to be a valid commercial alternative to fixed met masts for offshore wind measurements.
The FLiDAR measurement buoy is a floating LiDAR-based system that represents a breakthrough for the offshore wind industry, enabling cost reductions for offshore wind resource assessments. It has been developed by 3E, global renewable energy consultancy and software services provider, and Offshore & Wind Assistance (OWA), the subsidiary of marine contractor Geosea focusing on Operations and Maintenance.
It consists of a marine buoy equipped with a state-of-the-art buoy-adapted LEOSPHERE WINDCUBE®v2 LiDAR secured on top of it. The FLiDAR is designed and built to withstand harsh offshore conditions and has been proven to deliver high quality, reliable wind measurement data at significantly lower costs than a standard offshore measurement mast. It has been validated in real offshore conditions by third party consultants against a fixed offshore lidar (DTU- North Sea in 2011) and an offshore met mast (Frazer Nash and GLGH – Irish Sea 2013 as part of the Carbon Trust trials). It has been shown to deliver 10 minute horizontal wind speed and direction data with equivalent accuracy of a fixed met mast.
